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Matt Every defends Bay Hill title with thrilling finish, clutch putt
Defending Arnold Palmer Invitational champion Matt Every said he told 2012 and '13 champion Tiger Woods that he would "hold it down for him until he gets back."
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Every did just that, winning at Bay Hill for a second consecutive year with a closing 6-under 66 that gave him a one-shot win over 54-hole leader Henrik Stenson.
On the final hole, Every, who is a student of Woods' former teacher Sean Foley, stuck his approach 17 feet behind the pin for a fairly straight birdie putt. He drained it for a closing 3 and put the pressure on Stenson, who failed to make birdie at the par-5 16th after finishing just behind the green in two shots. The Swede made par on the long par-3 17th, then needed a birdie at the last to force a playoff. Stenson hit the green with his second shot and got a read from playing competitor Morgan Hoffmann before he had to stroke the potential tying putt. However, Stenson misread the left-to-right swinger. Every had won again.
The Florida native, who had a number of family and friends in his gallery this week, hadn't posted a top-25 finish on the PGA Tour since a T-3 finish in Memphis last June. The win gets Every into the Masters in a couple of weeks and thrusts him into the top 40 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
For his part, Stenson was not pleased PGA Tour rules officials put his final group on the clock for falling behind the pace. He said it caused him to take less time reading putts, including on the 16th, which was a turning point in the tournament. Stenson said he made a gesture to the rules official near the group after he made an ill-timed par.
While Stenson didn't specify the gesture, we're fairly certain it wasn't a thumbs up.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
